In surgery, surgical clips, in particular, in the form of so-called ligature clips, are increasingly being used for hemostasis of blood vessels and for clamping and occluding other hollow organs. The clips may comprise two clamping arms extending substantially parallel and having two free ends and two ends connected to each other and having a connecting region. So-called double-shank clips, for example, are also used. These comprise a total of four clamping arms with four free ends which are connected in pairs, and four ends also connected in pairs and defining two connecting regions. With such double-shank clips, which may be formed from a wire ring closed within itself, vessels or hollow organs can even be easily occluded at two locations separate from each other.
The placement of clips is considerably easier and quicker than suture techniques used heretofore. As they normally remain as implant in the body, the clips are manufactured from biocompatible materials, in particular, from pure titanium or a titanium alloy.
In an operation, before a blood vessel or a hollow organ can be severed, it is usually occluded with at least two, even better with three clips so that a surgeon can sever the hollow organ between two placed clips without blood or other body fluids issuing.
Every now and then one or more clips are wrongly positioned, for example, at a wrong vessel or hollow organ. If such a situation arises, the clips have to be removed again in order that the original functioning of the vessel or hollow organ can be reestablished. In so-called open surgery, removal of wrongly positioned clips, for example, using needle holders, forceps or other instruments is usually still possible, albeit with a very great effort. In endoscopic procedures, the wrong positioning of a clip is extremely critical. The clips are usually very small and are also constructed so as not to have undercuts or other protruding components, which would make them easy to grasp. Nor is this desirable for in the ideal case the two clamping arms of the clip, also referred to as clip legs, or two clamping arms of each pair in a double-shank clip, lie congruently one upon the other without any gap.